Book of Common Prayer
A Call for the Universe to Praise God
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from heaven,
you that live in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels,
all his heavenly armies.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,
and the waters above the sky.[a]
5 Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
He commanded, and they were created;
6 by his command they were fixed in their places forever,
and they cannot disobey.[b]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
sea monsters and all ocean depths;
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
strong winds that obey his command.
9 Praise him, hills and mountains,
fruit trees and forests;
10 all animals, tame and wild,
reptiles and birds.
11 Praise him, kings and all peoples,
princes and all other rulers;
12 young women and young men,
old people and children too.
13 Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
His name is greater than all others;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He made his nation strong,
so that all his people praise him—
the people of Israel, so dear to him.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his Temple!
Praise his strength in heaven!
2 Praise him for the mighty things he has done.
Praise his supreme greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpets.
Praise him with harps and lyres.
4 Praise him with drums and dancing.
Praise him with harps and flutes.
5 Praise him with cymbals.
Praise him with loud cymbals.
6 Praise the Lord, all living creatures!
Praise the Lord!
God Our Protector
91 Whoever goes to the Lord for safety,
whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
2 can say to him,
“You are my defender and protector.
You are my God; in you I trust.”
3 He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers
and from all deadly diseases.
4 He will cover you with his wings;
you will be safe in his care;
his faithfulness will protect and defend you.
5 You need not fear any dangers at night
or sudden attacks during the day
6 or the plagues that strike in the dark
or the evils that kill in daylight.
7 A thousand may fall dead beside you,
ten thousand all around you,
but you will not be harmed.
8 You will look and see
how the wicked are punished.
9 You have made the Lord your[a] defender,
the Most High your protector,
10 and so no disaster will strike you,
no violence will come near your home.
11 (A)God will put his angels in charge of you
to protect you wherever you go.
12 (B)They will hold you up with their hands
to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.
13 (C)You will trample down lions and snakes,
fierce lions and poisonous snakes.
14 God says, “I will save those who love me
and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
when they are in trouble, I will be with them.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will reward them with long life;
I will save them.”
A Song of Praise[b]
92 How good it is to give thanks to you, O Lord,
to sing in your honor, O Most High God,
2 to proclaim your constant love every morning
and your faithfulness every night,
3 with the music of stringed instruments
and with melody on the harp.
4 Your mighty deeds, O Lord, make me glad;
because of what you have done, I sing for joy.
5 How great are your actions, Lord!
How deep are your thoughts!
6 (D)This is something a fool cannot know;
someone who is stupid cannot understand:
7 the wicked may grow like weeds,
those who do wrong may prosper;
yet they will be totally destroyed,
8 because you, Lord, are supreme forever.
9 We know that your enemies will die,
and all the wicked will be defeated.
10 You have made me as strong as a wild ox;
you have blessed me with happiness.
11 I have seen the defeat of my enemies
and heard the cries of the wicked.
12 The righteous will flourish like palm trees;
they will grow like the cedars of Lebanon.
13 They are like trees planted in the house of the Lord,
that flourish in the Temple of our God,
14 that still bear fruit in old age
and are always green and strong.
15 This shows that the Lord is just,
that there is no wrong in my protector.
3 (A)“Listen now, my people, and come to me;
come to me, and you will have life!
I will make a lasting covenant with you
and give you the blessings I promised to David.
4 I made him a leader and commander of nations,
and through him I showed them my power.
5 Now you will summon foreign nations;
at one time they did not know you,
but now they will come running to join you!
I, the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel,
will make all this happen;
I will give you honor and glory.”
6 Turn to the Lord and pray to him,
now that he is near.
7 Let the wicked leave their way of life
and change their way of thinking.
Let them turn to the Lord, our God;
he is merciful and quick to forgive.
8 “My thoughts,” says the Lord, “are not like yours,
and my ways are different from yours.
9 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.
3 (A)You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. 2 Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!
The Old Life and the New
5 You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry). 6 Because of such things God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him.[a] 7 At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.
8 But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. 9 (B)Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits 10 (C)and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself. 11 As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.
12 (D)You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 (E)Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. 14 And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. 15 The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful. 16 (F)Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. 17 Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.
6 (A)Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. 7 Now that you have known me,” he said to them, “you will know[a] my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.”
9 Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do. 12 I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do—yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. 14 If you ask me[b] for anything in my name, I will do it.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.